


She (smells like lemongrass and sweets)

by lysiabeth



Category: Marvel (Comics)
Genre: F/F, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff, Meddling Sibling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-10-03
Packaged: 2019-07-24 14:38:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16177121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lysiabeth/pseuds/lysiabeth
Summary: “You told your little sister about your blind date?” She asks, and Laura has to laugh.“I wish. She actually was the one who organised this. Thinks I need to get out more.” Laura says, tucking her hair behind her ear, and she hates how she catches Kate’s eyes following the movement. Their eyes lock. It’s only for a second, but Laura can feel the butterflies jump around in her stomach, and Kate scrunches her nose before groaning a bit and averting her eyes.





	She (smells like lemongrass and sweets)

“You did  _ what _ ?” Laura asks, her eyebrows climbing up her forehead and arms instinctively crossing themselves over her chest.

It’s her signature ‘older sister angry’ look, and Gabby at least has the decency to look guilty as she twiddles her thumbs from where she’s sat on the couch with Jonothan.

“I might have… Signed you up for a blind date. Through the local newspaper.” Gabby says again, and Laura’s head spins. There's just so many things wrong with that statement. Newspaper. Blind date. Gabby interfering in her love life.

Laura can't decide which one to focus on first, so she just opens and closes her mouth a few times before rubbing her index and thumb over her brows.

“Gabby, you and I need to have a serious talk about boundaries-”

“I’m sorry, okay. I didn’t mean to make you upset, it’s just you never really do anything since you and what’s-his-face broke up and Wade thought it would be a fun way for you to get out more.”

“You talk to Wade Wilson about my love life?” Laura asks because, woah. That’s gotta be a new low.

Gabby sniffs. 

“It says a lot about you that that’s the thing you’re quick to notice in all of that.” Gabby replies, and Laura just chews on the cuticle of her thumb.

Maybe Gabby is right. Maybe she has been a little...reclusive since her and Warren broke up and there wasn’t any major X-Men emergency or even a Wolverine and Honey Badger emergency, but that didn't mean that she needed to go on some blind date with someone who probably didn’t even like mutants, let alone her.

She’s getting hot under her denim jacket just thinking about it, and Gabby must notice her heart rate pick up because she’s sitting up straighter.

“Look the application was real in-depth and I made sure that they knew you were Wolverine and the guy on the phone seemed real nice when he called this morning to confirm. I also scoped out the restaurant myself last week and I have to say their carbonara was far better than that packet stuff you hide in the back of the cupboard.” Gabby says, bouncing on her knees, and Laura nods.

She’s already got her brain working a mile a minute thinking up various excuses she can give to Gabby or the waiter or - and that’s only if it gets to that point - her date.

Date. The word makes her squirm. Laura sits herself down on the coffee table and continues to pick at her thumb, knows the jagged skin will be healed in minutes anyways. Reluctant as she is to admit it, it has been a while since she’s been out on a date. Even her and Warren in the final few months of their relationship would really just sit around or grab the odd bite to eat, the flame well and truly burning out by time the leaves on the trees in Central Park had turned from yellow, to brown, to crunching under your feet.

It hits her, as Gabby gets up to pull out some of her drawing materials, that she doesn't even know what she’s going to wear.

 

 

 

 

The restaurant Gabby walks her to is one of those ones that looks like about ten others on the same block, lit up with orange hues and small tables all tucked together across the window, stretching out the back and all set around the bar in the centre of the space. Laura’s in a pair of jeans she isn’t sure she bought with the rip in the knees and a shirt she’s pretty sure belonged to Jubilee at one point, arms covered against the Autumn chill under a leather jacket.

Gabby grins at her and holds two thumbs up as Laura looks down at her with a skeptical look.

“You’ll do fine! And I’ll be just around the corner if you need me.” Gabby says, Jonothan pulling on his lead to sniff at some pile of boxes left on the kerb. Laura huffs, pats her back pockets to double check her purse and phone are both there, and marches up to the doors.

She’s immediately hit with the overwhelming scents of oil and garlic, all the other smells twisting together that to any human would just smell like a nice meal coming out, but she can pick out every bit of the couple’s risotto to her left and it makes her scrunch her nose. This was a bad idea, that much is clear, already sensing a headache forming in her temples, and she’s just about to turn around and make her way to some food truck for an hour or so until she accidentally catches the eye of the maitre d, who grins at her a little too wide.

“Good evening - can I help you?” He asks. His cologne is strong and Laura can smell the red wine he’s spilt on his sleeve that he’s trying to cover with a stack of menus, and Laura half-smiles back.

“Uh… I’m actually here for the blind date thing.” Laura says, and a blank look goes over the guy’s face before his eyes are lighting up.

“Oh yes! Your date is already here, let me take you to your table.” He says, turning on his heel and making his way to the other end of the restaurant, where the lights are dimmed and the tables are more far and few between. Laura isn’t sure if she should be wary - this place seems like a setting of every bad story Logan had told her, and she’s already balling her fists against her sides incase she needs to act quickly.

Instead, Laura’s shocked to see who it is waiting at the table for her.

Hair half up and a clean white plaster stuck across the bridge of her nose, Kate Bishop almost double-takes when the maitre d’  slides the chair out from under the table and gestures to Laura.

“Here we go! I will come back in a few minutes for you two to order your drinks, until then I’ll let you two get somewhat acquainted.” He says, and Laura nods at him as she notices Kate’s ears pinking and heart rate skyrocketing as she reaches for her glass of water.

Kate slurps through her metal straw as Laura pulls off her jacket, suddenly warm.

“Well... Ahem. Fancy seeing you here?” Kate says, immediately dropping her head with a groan, and Laura smiles as she sinks into her chair. The seat is plushy and drags against the wooden flooring as she shuffles closer to the table, her own heart rate pumping in her ears.

“Could say the same about you, Kate. That wound smells fresh under there.” Laura comments, waving at Kate’s face, and Kate grimaces as she brings her fingers to tenderly poke at the edge of the bandaging.

“Ah... Yeah. Took a makeshift knuckle-duster to the face. Clint wasn’t kidding when he said they hurt like a bitch.” Kate says, and Laura takes the time that Kate flips her hair over her shoulder to assess her full body. Her fingers are bruised and she’s also got a bandage around her bicep which.

Hm.

Kate is in a glittery tank top with the edge of a lacy bralette showing through, arms relaxed but the line of them teasing lithe muscle underneath, a small gold chain resting on her collarbones and something that looks like gravel graze that reaches from one shoulder and likely down her back.

Laura is all hot under her collar, the nervousness of this blind date replaced with the nervousness of a blind date with Kate Bishop. Kate Bishop who she’d embarrassed herself in front of months ago and didn’t have the guts to get her number off her and who Gabby adored - it all feels a little surreal. Laura reaches for her own glass of water and takes a sip. 

Kate sends her a shy smile and then turns her head as a waiter drops something behind them, and all Laura can focus on is the musky smell of Kate’s likely very expensive perfume coming off of her in a way that shouldn’t be this overpowering but  _ is _ .

Laura is going to kill Gabby, but only if she can make it through this date without needing to go into hiding herself, first.

“I’m sorry, I just wasn’t expecting you of all people. Small world, right?” Kate asks, and Laura shrugs.

“I guess, but it’s not that small when you’re given a pool of people who don’t mind mutants - at least, that’s what Gabby said.” Laura shrugs, running her fingers across the edge of the drinks menu, and Kate raises an eyebrow.

“You told your little sister about your blind date?” She asks, and Laura has to laugh.

“I wish. She actually was the one who organised this. Thinks I need to get out more.” Laura says, tucking her hair behind her ear, and she hates how she catches Kate’s eyes following the movement. Their eyes lock. It’s only for a second, but Laura can feel the butterflies jump around in her stomach, and Kate scrunches her nose before groaning a bit and averting her eyes.

“God, I forget I broke it. You never realise how integral your nose is to facial expressions until it hurts to use it.” Kate says, and Laura just completely jumps the gun by replying:

“I bet kissing is a bitch too.”

Kate’s mouth pops open. Slightly. Laura can see Gabby in the back of her mind facepalming herself. The maitre d’ is now Laura’s new favourite person maybe on earth, because he takes this moment to come over to them and ask if they’re ready to order. Kate answers maybe a little too quickly - two cokes and a margarita pizza bread to start off with, please - and then he’s swishing away towards the bar, leaving the two of them alone again.

“I’ll be honest, I haven’t been kissing many people myself, lately. It’s why Cassie signed me up for this.” Kate says, and Laura notes that both of their heart beats are returning back to normal.

“Clint pretty much permanently has a broken nose, though, and Natasha is always all over him, so maybe it isn’t that much of a problem.” Kate says, and Laura’s eyebrows shoot up. She forgets about Clint, sometimes. She’s sure she isn’t the only one.

“It’s funny, a bit. How we both have these older men in our lives as mentors but we end up taking care of them more than they do us, right?” Laura says, and Kate smiles meanly.

“God, don’t remind me. Every time I come away from hanging out or working with Clint, America is always in my ear about how ‘He’s like fifty, Kate, you need to let him deal with his own problems’. Which, I mean- She’s not wrong, you know? But the guy practically taught me most of what I know and we’ve been through a lot…”

“It’s hard to just cut them off completely. Yeah, I get you.” Laura says. And she does - that predicament is the story of her life. Kate runs her finger along the rim of the water glass, once, twice, thrice.

“Do you wanna go? For a walk maybe?” Laura asks, suddenly antsy, and Kate raises a brow.

“You know something about the food from this place that I don’t?” Kate asks, her tone joking. Laura just moves to stand, pulling on her jacket one arm at a time.

“We can ask for it in a box…” Laura’s uncertain, maybe she’d been reading Kate’s body language wrong, but Kate just stands too. When she turns, Laura eyes the line of graze that does go down her back as suspected. It’s new, can’t be more than a day or so old; Laura kinda just wants to run her fingers down it.

She’s saved by not doing something stupid like actually trying it as Kate walks her way to the bar, already talking to their waiter and explaining that they’re going. Laura’s head is three steps back when she realises Kate is already getting out some shiny credit card to pay before Laura can protest.

“You should have waited, we could have split the bill.” Laura says. Kate just waves her off and stands by the bar, drumming her fingers on the varnished wood.

“You can pay for the next one. Where do you wanna go?” Kate asks, taking the box the guy behind the bar slides them with a pinched smile, and Laura’s already reaching her hand out to carry it for her. Their fingers touch, and Laura notes that Kate’s hands are cold, and Kate holds onto the box for a split-second before letting it go.

They make their way out of the restaurant, a gust of wind hitting them as the door swings closed, and then the only sounds are Kate clucking her teeth and the movement of the crawling street in front of them.

It’s fall, in New York, where the streets are less crowded and more people are in their cars, and Laura wants to reach over the Kate and wrap her arms around her because the girl appears to have forgotten a jacket.

“You cold?” Laura asks, nudging her with an elbow gently in the side instead, and Kate flashes her a sheepish look.

“Forgot New York in fall was not California in the fall. I may have left my jacket back at the apartment.”

“Do you want to borrow mine?” Laura asks, already maneuvering the pizza box to pull one arm out of her sleeve, but Kate just grips onto Laura’s bicep with her cold little fingers and shakes her head no, her words tripping over herself.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. This human can handle a slight breeze.” She says, even with a wink, but Laura catches something in her undertone that makes her think maybe this isn’t the first time Kate’s been coddled by a non-human teammate. Laura’s not sure why, but the thought makes her feel funny.

“There’s a bench this way, if you still want to continue this date?” Laura asks, and Kate loosens her grip on her arm to slide it down to her forearm. The touch leaves goosebumps in their wake and Laura kind of wishes that Kate’s fingers will link around hers when they reach them, but instead Kate just buries her hands into the deep pockets of her funky high-waisted jeans and waits for Laura to lead the way with a warm look on her face.

She’s going to kill Gabby. If she needed any evidence that her little sister really had been reading her journal, then this was it.

Kate’s humming something under her breath and Laura’s trying to watch her from out of the corner of her eye.

“What song is that?” She asks, hopes that the archer won’t be too freaked out by her hearing, and Kate’s humming pauses for a moment.

“Oh, just some band I heard the other night at a gig.” Kate says, and Laura nods.

“Do you go to many gigs?”

Her life, as much as she loves it, is kind of sad on the social aspect of things. She has Gabby and a few of her x-men pals, but Laurs hasn’t ventured further than Grand Central Park in about a month, the rest of her days taken up with Gabby or hero responsibilities. 

“A few times a month, maybe. Depends how busy I am. You?” Kate asks, and Laura drags them down a side street she knows serves as a shortcut to where they’re going. Laura laughs and shakes her head.

“Not really my thing. Or maybe they are, I haven’t had the chance to go to one really.” Laura says. There was a date a while back with Jubilee, but they’d had to leave halfway through because of an emergency and the music wasn’t anything close to what Laura usually liked to listen to. Kate pauses as they finally reach the bench and sends Laura a searching look. She feels like she’s missing something, but then Kate shakes her head and just says “I’ll drag you along to the next one I go to, then. If you want to, of course.”

Laura nods, a little too enthusiastic. “Yeah, I think I’d like that.”

The pizza has sweated and is slightly cold around the crusts, but Laura opens the box and divvies out a slice to Kate end then for herself, biting into it in a contemplative silence. It is good, Laura notes, probably well worth the price of it she never got to see, but Laura’s distracted by the smell of kate’s perfume that floats up as her hair blows up around the edges of her face a little.

She doesn’t mean to watch Kate, really, but she doesn’t look away when Kate turns and looks her in the eye either.

“Sup?” Kate asks, swallowing her mouthful, and Laura hopes that the lamp overhead isn’t bright enough to show the blush rising on her cheeks.

“Sorry.” Laura says, already turning back to grab another slice of pizza, but she’s stopped by kate who reaches a hand out instead. The two of them pause, Kate’s hand stalling and then dropping onto the bench next to Laura’s thigh, and Laura feels like she’s about to miss something phenomenal if she doesn’t drop the pizza lid and rest her hand next to Kates.

A car alarm has started to go off on the distance, and some leaves down the street are creating a swooshing sound. Laura links her pinky finger with Kate’s little frozen one, cautious of the bruising on her knuckles, and Kate moves her but towards Laura slightly, shivering.

“Cold?” Laura asks, her breath barely a mumble, and Kate’s laugh is like fairy dust as she continues to link their fingers together.

“Can I tell you something, Wolverine?”

“What’s that, Hawkeye?”

“You can’t be mad.” Kate says, and Laura turns to face her. Her heart is beating like there’s no tomorrow and she’s aware of the way Kate is stroking her thumb over the back of her hand, similar to the rhythm of the song she was humming earlier.

“What is it?” Laura asks, and Kate sighs.

“So this blind date maybe… Wasn’t all that blind. I mean it was for you, but Gabby actually called me last week and asked if I wanted to go on a date with you but she didn’t think you would ask me so I said yeah.” Kate says, voice quick and heart hammering and palm getting sweaty where it’s pressed against Lauras.

“You said yeah?” Laura asks, knows she should be angry and sort of is but also… Kate Bishop said yeah. To going on a date. With her.

“Uh… I mean. I kinda have been wanting an excuse to catch up with you for months but didn’t really have the chance to-”

Laura holds Kate’s head in her free hand and moves it so she’s not in any immediate danger of hurting her nose even more as she pulls her in for a kiss. Her lip is split on the one side too and she tastes like pizza and cheap lip gloss, but Kate smiles a bit against Laura’s mouth when she finally catches up with what’s going on and tightens her grip on Laura’s fingers.

It’s really nice, even if the pizza box ends up flopping onto the ground and Kate has to pull away quicker than Laura would have liked because she can’t breathe through her nose that well.

Kate pokes at the bandage on her nose again with her free hand and then smiles.

“So… you’re not mad then?” She asks, voice teasing, and Laura laughs.

“Oh, I am. Gabby is definitely getting grounded when I get home. But I kind of want to finish this date first, so she’s safe for now.” Laura says, and her tummy erupts in butterflies at the grin Kate flashes at her.

**Author's Note:**

> me and the three other katelaura warriors: katelaura rights!
> 
> happy birthday to the person this is for i love u legend hope u like this <3


End file.
